Gems Of The African Diaspora International Film Festival Screening Series Starting 6/29

A film series of critically acclaimed films presented in ADIFF over the last 20 years, this Friday, June 29 to Sunday, July 1, 2012 at Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street.

The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year.

(Re)discover films that had their US or New York premiere in ADIFF and were very well received.These films illustrate the depth and range of ADIFF. Some of them have enjoyed a successful run in the USA, while others disappeared after touring the festival circuit.

FILM SERIES DETAILED PROGRAM:

FRIDAY, JUNE 29 @ 6PM OTOMO
Award winning actors Isaac de Bankole (Chocolat, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samourai, Manderlay) and Eva Mattess (Enemy at the Gates) star in this powerful film portraying institutionalized racism and police brutality and provides a convincing look at the everyday world of refugees, who are continuously surrounded by tension and insecurity.
“A shocking portrayal of rampant racism.” – Variety
FREE SCREENING.

FRIDAY, JUNE 29 @ 8PM THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL
This award-winning, powerful documentary which received its world premiere during the 10th ADIFF in 2002 at the Schomburg Center, recounts how the murder of this young man was a catalist for the Civil Rights Mouvement in the USA. “A powerful account of a hate crime in mid-century segregated Mississippi.” – Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 2PM

NO TIME TO DIE
“Ghanaian helmer King Ampaw’s beguiling English-speaking comedy, about the romantic travails of a lovestruck hearse driver, effortlessly shuttles between city and bush, from genre to fable and back again.” – Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 4PM

SIA, THE DREAM OF THE PYTHON
“A delightful, pointed fable of religious and political extremism that’s extra-relevant at present [Sia, the Dream of the Python is a] smart, briskly paced mix of costume exotica and punchy thematic universalism. – Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 6PM

FISH ABOVE SEA LEVEL
“Tyro Jordanian writer-director Hazim Bitar’s laid-back minimalist approach works to surprising dramatic effect in “Fish Above Sea Level,” a character-driven two-hander about the grandson of a white loan shark and the grandson of his black victim thrown together by the economic downturn.” – Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 8PM

DANCING FOREVER
“Based on Marie Do’s autobiographical novel, [“Dancing Forever”] neatly balances the two dominant factors in its heroine’s destiny: her mixed-race heritage and her passion for dance. “Dancing Forever’s” consistently upbeat tone matches its heroine’s indomitable spirit. Featuring fully fleshed-out, juicily ambivalent characters coping with complexities of racism in 1960s France, and a wealth of colorful, well-executed terpsichorean material performed by a talented, real-life ballerina lead, pic satisfies on a number of levels.” – Variety

SUNDAY, JULY 1@ 2PMDESAMORES
“Spiffy Puerto Rican noir with a black private eye as hero, based on the novel “Desamores” by political writer Wilfredo Mattos-Cintron, brings some nice ironic class tensions back into the genre. The story hovers over the uglier aspects of the beautiful people as the cynical detective walks a thin line between a corrupt plutocracy and a psychopathic criminal underclass on the streets of San Juan. ” – Variety

SUNDAY, JULY 1 @ 4PM

SCHEHERAZADE, TELL ME A STORY
“Though treating women’s oppression as a political issue isn’t exactly new, the clarity with which it’s spelled out in “Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story” is both bold and brave. Together with scribe Waheed Hamed, helmer Yousry Nasrallah presents women’s sexuality as an expression of self-determination, making clear the parallels with an ever-degenerating political system.” – Variety